Dinesh Wagle on Nepali society

नोभेम्बर 26, 2006मार्च 9, 2010

Unpressed Shirts And My Crusade Against Ironing

I am posting this photo six hours after it was taken (today morning). As I predicted at the time when the photo was taken, the outlook of my shirt has changed. It’s not different than a pressed one. So why waste time, energy and the electricity!Pic by Email

I hate spending (wasting) time in pressing shirts and making them look ‘great’. Why? What the hell you are asking? Why re! I just hate. You know the precious time, you can do so many other things during that time instead of carrying the load of iron (”estri” is the word that our tailor in the village used to call the thing. I don’t know what’s there in “estri” that males love to press their clothes.) So I was about to wear this pura jhyaure and khachhyak khuchhuk khumchhiyeko shirt this morning, my brother ‘wisely’ suggested me to use estiri to make it ‘wearable’. “What? Press the shirt?” I fired back. “No way! Look, I am wearing this now and it will be okay after a few hours, on its own.” Ramro banera kaslai dekhaunu chha ra?

“You are covering it with jacket,” he said. I smiled!

“Boy, note this down,” I told him. “If you ever write my biography, don’t forget to mention that ‘Dinesh Wagle was a great fellow who never pressed his shirts. He always wore unpressed clothes. What an inspirational figure. Anti-estri movement will remember him forever. History will record this man’s habit!’ Ha, ha. That will be interesting, man, to read after 50 years.”

“Hya,” he dismissed my request and fired a question. “Where do I keep that biography till then?”

“Here comes the idea!” I scream. I almost threw the shirt away and my pant nearly went down! “Take out the camera and take a snap. I am going to write a blog. I hope people will be able to search it after 50 years!”

Then two Wagles started the great work of photo session.

I developed this habit of anti-estri when I was in hostel. Especially when I was in the 10th standard in Bhaktapur. I have never pressed my pants in the past 10 years. Even in hostel, the previous one, when I had to do the job, I would simply avoid doing so. I was fine with unpressed pants and I am fine now.

“Ha… that’s why you have this big collection of t-shirts,” intervened Email. “Who needs to press t-shirts? And you always wear jeans.”

That’s right. I love wearing t-shirts, mostly UWB t-shirts, WSJ t-shirts, Palpasa Cafe t-shirts, Batsyayana Book t-shirt, and, recently, Hot Zone t-shirts. I have become a living and moving hoarding board advertising my websites, books and other missions. It’s actually a distinct experience. Whenever I wear Palpasa Cafe t-shirt, some people in the office think I am doing so to please my editor and author of P Cafe Narayan Wagle. That’s not true but I haven’t refuted those ‘allegations’ because they don’t deserve my refutation. They don’t comment on people who wear Harry Potter t-shirts and tease me for wearing Palpasa Cafe t-shirt. Funny! But the same people hardly noticed it was Batsyayana book’s t-shirt when I was wearing the t-shirt (it was in English). I told those critics of me wearing Palpasa Cafe t-shirt: what do you have to say about this? Do you think I am wearing this t-shirt to please Batsyayan? [By the way, was I wearing that because I didn’t have to press that? ha ha, who knows! Tyo ta haina, tara I like wearing such t-shirts. I also like Ma Parivartan Chahanchhu t-shirts!]

As long as the clothes are clean and free of dirt, I don’t really care if they are looking great or not! I am not in the league of being cool by spending time in selecting clothes that I wear. I don’t have time. I give about 4 minutes to change and get ready to get out of the house in the morning. So no way I spend time in selecting lugas that I wear. Not even while interviewing models! Again, Ramro banera kaslai po dekhaunu chha ra? 🙂

6 thoughts on “Unpressed Shirts And My Crusade Against Ironing”

You are in a male dominated society that’s y like most of the male you too don’t press your shirt yourself because you are still bachelor! I don’t know you’ve noticed or not but male are not used to get pressed cloth before they get married!

When you will get married, you will find someone to press your shirt, then you will start to look for pressed shirt while going office!
Now you are young, jeans suit you, you look handsome in t-shirt but when you will tie in relation you may have to attend parties or formal programme then your JhyaurePan (which you are not) will get off!
You are not jhyaure. One who can design his t-shirt in his own style, one who listens contemporary English songs, one who is crazy about Ash, one who is very good reporter, one who is blog star of Nepal never can be Jhyaure. Jhyaure means one who can’t run with time. In my opinion!

And by the way that photo which is got post here seems you took that photo to post here! That is too much! If Wagle wears this shirt then you are not jhyaure, you are untidy, and lazy.

Why do you bath? It also takes your time. Why don’t you cover up your hair all time? Why do you brush your teeth? To wear pressed shirt is also like this.

Be smart! You should be! For yourself! For whom you eat? For whom you shave? These are nonsense excuses!

“like most of the male you too don’t press your shirt yourself because you are still bachelor!”

>> Well, I beg to differ here. It’s not that I don’t press shirts because I am not married or I will be wearing press shirts after marriage because someone will be doing the job for me. That’s not the case. I hate being formal, even in formal gatherings. I don’t rule out that I will not play by the rule in so called formal parties or gatherings but that wouldn’t be my priority. While taking photograph for the passport, the photographer asked me if I wanted to wear tie that he had in the studio so that I could have a business look! I instantly rejected saying rarely wear tie (in school days and briefly when I had to teach in a school). By the way, I wash my clothes myself whenever I have time (or energy) and I don’t think I will marry just to wear pressed shirts. That would be utterly unfair, wouldn’t that?

I don’t care if I am untidy as long as the shirt is clean enough to wear! Yar, iron ta kina lagaunu paryo bhanya. I think there is a case of a British personality being barred from entering a party hall just because he was wearing informal clothes. Then he came back in formal suit and put all food in the clothes! I think people shouldn’t give much attention to what a person is wearing but should focus on the person.
Do you really think wearing pressed shirts make a person smart?

Here are comments that were removed because of technology failure and were reposted:

3. Comment Box Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 7:23 am

Of course! Cloth is also one of the most important things that make you smart! But I don\\’t mean that it should be expensive one. It should be pressed!

4. Wagle 🙂 Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 7:35 am

I think clothes don’t really play an important role in a person’s smartness. People shouldn’t judge others by what they are wearing! But yes I agree many people might agree with you and give emphasis on clothes! T-shirts are the best in summer but in winter cover up yourself with long jackets! kya cool and kya warm!!

5. Comment Box Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 7:40 am

Jadoma Ta kasale shirt matra laer hid bhaneko chha ta! Tar khamchyang khumchung shirt bhanda t-shirt nai thik chha!
N by the way I am not giving emphasis on cloth I am just saying that if you have iron in your home then you should not make an excuse! instead of wearing Khamchyang Khumchung shirt, you should iron your shirt!

6. Wagle 🙂 Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 7:47 am

Thanks for your suggestion but I am don’t think I will give a serious though about ironing shirts. I have no enmity with Iron as such but, this one is a big BUT, I don’t think I can give time on that.
So you iron your clothes, huh?

7. Comment Box Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 7:51 am

Yes, I DO. Needless to say thanks, if you don’t take suggestion!

8. Ms. America Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 8:02 am

This is turning into a silly banter here. I have to say that as a woman, there is no way in hell that I am going to ever iron my husbands clothes, I don’t iron my own! And fully support your free will to not iron as well! But then again, I don’t even want to get married, so maybe that sums it up better than my non-existant urge to iron…

I will say that I am impressed that you do wash your own clothes! When I was in Nepal and India I didn’t miss very many things about the silly modern conveniences that we take advantage of here in the US, but a washing machine and drier sure were something to miss! Washing clothes by hand, especially when you procrastinate, is an all day affair, and hard work! Oh and when you have an electric clothes drier, you just toss in the wrinkled shirt for a couple of minutes and return later to a non-wrinkled and fresh smelling shirt!

If I ever become a millionaire I will come to Kathmandu and open up cheap coin operated laundromats all over the city! If no where else than Thamel and Bouddhanath, for all of the other lazy travelers that would rather wear dirty and wrinkled clothes that to spend all day, sitting in a squat, wringing and re-wringning out clothes, rinsing and re-rinsing them, only to have them dry stiff and soapy in the end!
Viva la revolution! Humans agains ironing unite!

9. Wagle 🙂 Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 8:13 am

“as a woman, there is no way in hell that I am going to ever iron my husbands clothes, I don’t iron my own!”
>>Ms America, you got my vote! Run for the Presidential election yar!! Hilary, you be warned!!

“but a washing machine and drier sure were something to miss! Washing clothes by hand, especially when you procrastinate, is an all day affair, and hard work! Oh and when you have an electric clothes drier, you just toss in the wrinkled shirt for a couple of minutes and return later to a non-wrinkled and fresh smelling shirt!”

>> Nothing to disagree with. Reminds me of our harsh reality in Nepali society. And you know what, they will restart the load shedding from next week. Electricity is becoming a rare thing for many of us. Wish we could do the same: “toss in the wrinkled shirt for a couple of minutes and return later to a non-wrinkled and fresh smelling shirt!” I think that day will come!!

Please become a millionaire soooon!!

Till then, Humans against ironing UNITE!!!

10. Ms. America Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 8:43 am

Well, I guess I will have to start playing the lottery just to honor my promises to bring laundromats to Nepal. Heck, just that venture could possibly make me rich!

But as for politics, no thanks! Can’t stand drama and that would be a headache full of drama! And unlike Hillary’s husband there are way too many people out there in the world that could bust me if I ever said that I never inhaled!

I am sorry to hear that you will be having electricity issues! Just the other day our power went out here for a couple of hours. I had flashbacks from my trip. It’s funny but it is taken so much for granted here. I wasn’t upset about anything other than my inability to use my internet, and most of that was because I was on deadline and it was holding me back! Technology is such a double edged sword. Supposed to make our live easier, but often causes way too much stress!

I know that the day will come that Nepal will be full of washing machines, driers, and even refridgerators and big ovens. What scares me is what that really means for our world, since spoiled humans seem to grow ignorance out of the deal!! But that should be left for another post and another time…

so until that day comes, united against ironing we stand! I think we should write a declaration of independance! against ironing that is!

The reason there is no little time for pressing your shirt means that you have stopped giving time to yourself. But Dinesh, at least your cloth should be the true expression of yourself and your personality ,does not matter pressed or unpressed.

In a professional culture, which believes “attire makes man”, wear what looks good and feels best on your body.….I say so but I like your unpressed UWB T-shirt, or P Café T-shirt or any designed T-shirt that scream for attention.

And lastly, D, no matter how blind u wear, you always look coooool and superglam with your stubble look and great smile and of course with your advertisement ko chaltapurja hoarding board chatima tasera hidne bani!